2018 Grammy nominees' stage names explained

Lady Gaga, who was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, scored two Grammy nominations (best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance) this year. In 2010, the singer told Flybe magazine that when she launched her music career, her ex, music producer Rob Fusari, started calling her Gaga because she reminded him of the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga." She then added the Lady to her stage name "because Gaga is sort of crazy and Lady has such connotations." Said the Mother Monster, "When we were getting ready to really start performing, I decided that I'd been playing under my real name for so long I wanted a new way to reinvent myself. ... I went to a private school but now I was living in this trash glitter environment. So, for me, it was the perfect description of who I had become."

Lady Gaga, who was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, scored two Grammy nominations (best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance) this year. In 2010, the singer told Flybe magazine that when she launched her music career, her ex, music producer Rob Fusari, started calling her Gaga because she reminded him of the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga." She then added the Lady to her stage name "because Gaga is sort of crazy and Lady has such connotations." Said the Mother Monster, "When we were getting ready to really start performing, I decided that I'd been playing under my real name for so long I wanted a new way to reinvent myself. ... I went to a private school but now I was living in this trash glitter environment. So, for me, it was the perfect description of who I had become."